Michael Graeme Groom (born 1959) is an Australian

mountain climber Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

. In 1995, Groom became the fourth person ever to reach the summits of the four highest mountains in the world (

Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the ...

, K2 and

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

) without the aid of bottled oxygen. He proceeded to climb the fifth-highest,

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

, in 1999. In 1987 he lost the front third of his feet to

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

after descending from the summit of

. Despite this, he later managed to summit

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in 1993 and again in 1996. Groom acted as a guide for Adventure Consultants during the

1996 Mount Everest disaster The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making i ...

, which he survived and subsequently described in his 1997 autobiography. In the 2015 film ''

'', Groom was portrayed by actor Tom Wright. In the 2000 Australia Day Honours Groom was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) for "service to mountaineering".

Notable ascents

Everest

On his third attempt at summiting the tallest mountain in the world in 1993, Groom finally completed Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen. He attempted twice in 1991, the second time ending in a fall down the Lhotse Face in an avalanche; he received only a broken nose and a few cracked ribs and was lucky to have survived the ordeal.

K2

In 1995, Groom unknowingly turned around just shy of the summit of K2 after taking the more difficult and technically demanding SSE Spur route. He returned weeks later and successfully summited the mountain via the easier Abruzzi ridge with

Veikka Gustafsson Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson (born 14 January 1968) is a Finnish mountaineer who has ascended all 14 eight-thousanders in the world without the use of supplemental oxygen. He is also known for presenting a TV travel ...

Kangchenjunga

In 1987 Groom summited Kanchenjunga (the world's third-highest mountain at 8598m) but on descending developed frostbite in the toes of both feet, later resulting in partial amputation of both feet.

Makalu

In 1999 he climbed

(), the world's fifth-highest mountain.

Bibliography

* ''Sheer Will: The Inspiring Life and Climbs of Michael Groom. An Autobiography'' 1997 Random House Australia

References

External links

Michael Groom - The Official WebsiteContact Michael for Speaking engagements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Michael 1959 births Australian mountain climbers Living people Australian summiters of Mount Everest Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia